Winemakers surf for 19th year
The 19th annual Reef SA Vintner's Surf Classic is taking place on Friday 10 August in either Stilbaai or Jongensfontein, with the actual surf spot to be announced early on the morning of the event.
This unique South African surf event started in 2000 by a group of about 12 winemakers from the Western Cape who loved to surf and hated golf. It was a tradition for winemakers to be invited annually for a round of golf by their suppliers and they decided to rather go surfing. The first event was held at Onrus Beach and it was decided to move it to Stilbaai or Jongensfontein, which have a more consistent point break. It has been taking place on a Friday in August for almost two decades now and all the contestants are from the local wine industry with winemakers, viticulturists and marketers in the mix. Every year, all the Vintner’s Surf Classic winemakers supply delicious red wines and these are crafted into a collector’s wine called Big Red that is always bottled in magnums. Some of these bottles will be auctioned off to raise money for the Surf4Life campaign and others will soon be commercially available for sale. There are three main categories Juniors, Seniors and Ballies with the top four surfers of each category going into a final showdown. The day ends with a get together in the evening, where competitors and their families gather for a prize giving. The southern Cape’s local winemaker, Abraham de Klerk from Riversdale’s Baleia Wines will again tackle the waves in this competition. The first heat starts at 07:30 and spectators are welcome. There will also be a beach clean-up on the day and contestants and spectators are invited to take part, while a donation from the event will go to the repair and maintenance of the area afterwards.